


Feverish

by annabeth



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Gen, Illness, Inuyasha catches feelings, Kagome is blissfully unaware, this is so innocent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:40:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24126781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annabeth/pseuds/annabeth
Summary: "I'm really fine," Kagome said, but her cheeks were flushed...Or, Kagome falls ill and Inuyasha catches something as well, though in his case it's not physical.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome & InuYasha
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Feverish

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "damp" for Get Your Words Out Yahtzee, and with this I can call yahtzee! Yay!

"Ah-choo!" Kagome sneezed, covering her mouth with her hand. Inuyasha looked up from the fire, to examine her face. She was flushed, and he couldn't really say that he was surprised. It was raining, and they'd been traveling in it since early that morning. The rain had begun as a bit of misty drizzle, but it had persisted till everything they wore was wet through.

Their damp clothes had been hung up around the small hut they were squatting in, and Inuyasha was the only one of the group who still wore his, mostly because they were impervious to most types of weather and other abuses, like flame.

"You all right, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, unfolding his hands as he watched her. Her hair was softened by curls from the humidity in the hut. That misty drizzle that had made them miserable throughout the day had eventually turned to a steady rain, and now it pattered on the roof of the hut as they huddled inside.

"It's nice to be out of the rain," Sango said, even as she wrapped a blanket tighter around herself. Inuyasha stoked the fire with a log, then tossed it into the fire. It caused it to spark and flare, and steam rose.

"I'm fine," Kagome said, but then she sneezed again. "Ugh, summer can be the worst when it's not sunny outside," she added, her nose sounding a bit clogged.

"Do you have a summer cold?" Inuyasha asked, making a movement towards her, but she shook her head and motioned him to stay where he was.

"I'm really fine," she said, but her cheeks were still flushed, and Inuyasha glanced over to where her damp clothes hung to dry. She was wearing a spare set of clothes from her backpack, but even the backpack had absorbed some moisture from the rain, and Inuyasha wondered just how dry her current clothes were. Making a decision, he climbed to his feet and went over to her anyway.

"Here," he said, removing the fire-rat cloak tunic he wore, wrapping it around her shoulders. "You looked cold."

"Thanks, Inuyasha, I really appreciate it," Kagome said, and then she was yawning and her head was nodding towards his shoulder. Inuyasha was about to bristle at the gratitude—why did she always have to get so mushy, anyway?—but then her head landed on his shoulder and he could hear the soft whistle of her breathing through her congested sinuses.

He wrapped his arm around her, then surveyed the hut, to make sure no one was going to make any snide comments about them being so close together, but the others were all lying down, and if they weren't sleeping, they were doing credible impressions of it.

"Hey, Kagome," Inuyasha murmured, knowing she was fast asleep and couldn't hear him. "You're really warm," he added, and, since she couldn't see him, he allowed his hand to creep up to her forehead, where he oh-so-casually felt it. She was perspiring, and while some of that was probably the fire and the humid summer evening, he thought she might have a fever.

Her hair was cool against his cheek, but retained moisture from the day's rain, and the ends frizzed and tickled his nose. He tried valiantly not to sneeze and managed to master the urge even as he pulled her closer.

He remembered holding Kikyo like this, only back then, if they'd been this close, they might have leaned towards each other, into a kiss. He looked at Kagome's lips, and as if she could somehow sense what he was remembering, she licked them, then sighed and snuggled even closer. Her mouth was momentarily wet, but then the saliva dried and he could see that her lips were cracking from her fever.

"This won't do at all," Inuyasha said, and quickly looked around him again. He could hear Miroku snoring, and Sango breathing in a regular rhythm, and even Shippo and Kirara were curled up together. Though Inuyasha could still hear the rain falling, it was softer and more soothing than before. His eyelids drooped, and he was tempted to go to sleep, too, but he didn't want to take his eyes off Kagome.

She mumbled a little in her sleep, and Inuyasha was reminded once again of Kikyo, of long nights where he just watched her sleep, where he watched over her to make sure no _youkai_ attacked.

Fifty years ago, when Kikyo was the one guarding the Shikon Jewel, Inuyasha had appointed himself to be the one guarding _her_. He still didn't know just how aware she was of it, of him, when they were alone together and the _youkai_ were stirring in the forests.

Naraku had destroyed the trust between Inuyasha and Kikyo, but he hadn't been able to divide Kagome and Inuyasha. Maybe, deep down, Kagome was the stronger girl, with her convictions about what was right and her ability to see through Naraku's dirty tricks.

In any case, she had yet to abandon Inuyasha, despite his bad-tempered behavior. He knew, like at times like this, that he was both dense and quick to anger, but now, with Kagome so close, he felt the slight prickle of guilt. He tightened his hold on her shoulders, and as he did so, the fire-rat tunic slipped down, and the bare skin of her upper arm and her cheek came into contact with Inuyasha's own skin.

She was burning up, sweaty and damp, and he sighed, laying her carefully down onto her sleeping bag, and though he left the fire-rat tunic around her shoulders, he brushed her sweaty hair away from her face, then whispered,

"I'll be right back, Kagome," and he left the hut with one of those contraptions she used to hold water, walking down to the river in the light sprinkle that began to permeate his undershirt. He looked up into the gray sky, feeling rain collect on his eyelashes, then filled the bottle-thing with water and made his way back to the hut.

Kagome was where he'd left her, though she had wrapped her arms around herself and she was shivering. Inuyasha knelt down next to her, felt her forehead again; she was definitely too warm, still, and though she shivered, he knew he needed to cool down her fever.

Using a towel from Kagome's backpack, he moistened it with water and began to wipe away her sweat, to cool her brow with the water from the river, and she mumbled in her fogged sleep,

"Inu-yasha…"

Something ached in places Inuyasha hadn't allowed himself to remember since he'd been resurrected, and he sighed; Kagome, flushed and sweaty, was more beautiful to him than he had anticipated. And though he'd spent months and months in her company, the sight of her like this, helpless and dependent on him, made his heart beat a little faster.

He kept wiping her down, from her forehead to her arms to her legs, all night, and by morning, when the rain finally stopped and the sun rose, Kagome was breathing easily, her cheeks still rosy but no longer feverish. Inuyasha was exhausted, but he didn't want to sleep… not yet… must… watch… over... Kagome…

"Inuyasha, hey," came her voice from a distance, and Inuyasha swam up from the depths of his consciousness to meet it. "You must have been so tired," Kagome said, and Inuyasha opened his eyes and beheld her countenance where it filled his vision.

"Nah, nothin' much," he said, and she smiled. She looked radiant in the morning light, much recovered, and he felt his heart skip a beat again. What was this feeling? He had not felt anything like this since… since Kikyo.

"Here," she said, returning his tunic. "Thanks for lending it to me."

"Nah, it was nothin'," he said, and flipped over so he couldn't see her anymore. She was well again; she had no recollection, apparently, of the night they'd spent and how they'd spent it—together.

But he couldn't look her in the eye. Not anymore.

Not if he didn't want to grab her and kiss her, and never let her go.


End file.
